


To The First of Many

by jugandbettsdetectiveagency



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Briefest Mention of Pre-Natal Depression, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Mother's Day, Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 09:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10941864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jugandbettsdetectiveagency/pseuds/jugandbettsdetectiveagency
Summary: Betty's first Mother's Day begins with a not-so-welcome wake up from Hot Dog.





	To The First of Many

Betty’s mind clung to the quiet depths of peaceful slumber. Sleep was a luxury these days, and while the wakeful hours brought her nothing but joy she was definitely grateful for the moments her head finally hit the soft feather pillows of her bed. She welcomed the snug cocoon her duvet provided her, wriggling further into its embrace and pushing her cheek into the pillow in an attempt to stay asleep just that little bit longer. 

The rough, sandpaper tongue moving incessantly against her cheek had other ideas, though. She sighed through parted lips as she let her eyelids begin to flutter, knowing this was the beginning of the end for her Sunday lie-in. Why does he never lick Jughead’s face first? Betty thought with drowsy affection, picturing the shaggy fur of their beloved sheepdog awaiting her. She lifted the arm that was hanging off the side of the mattress, her hand feeling like a slight dead weight from where it had lost circulation in the night, to pat his soft head. 

“Morning, Hot Dog,” she rasped, throat thick with sleep as she scratched behind his ears, the sound of his rhythmic panting finally making its way through her sleep-addled brain.

“Morning, Mommy,” a voice replied. Betty jumped in surprise, rolling onto her back and lifting her eyes to glance down to the foot of the bed. The sight that greeted her filled her chest with warmth, all traces of sleepiness vanishing in an instant. A bright grin spread across her face as she stretched, one fist coming down to rub at her eyes. 

“Hi, baby,” she cooed at the little girl who was bouncing in Jughead’s sturdy hands. Juliet let out a happy gurgle at the sight of her mom, reaching out to Betty with chubby fists. Betty scooped her up, pulling her close to nuzzle her nose into the soft fuzz of her hair. There was nothing quite like the scent of babies, it was genetically intoxicating. 

Both parents laughed as Juliet began to blow bubbles from between her rose petal lips, her spit joining Hot Dog’s on Betty’s cheek. Betty couldn’t help but melt as her daughter flashed a toothless smile, her attempts at giggles filling the room. Jughead stared at them fondly, still unable to believe his luck.

Betty looked up at him, beautiful even with a million fly-aways from her bun surrounding her bare face. She was radiant all on her own, no matter how she looked, no matter the time of day. Her every flaw made her perfect. 

“Good morning,” she murmured bashfully, still unable not to blush under his gaze, even after all these years - he wouldn’t trade that for the world. It gave him a certain pride to know that he could invoke such reactions without even a touch of his fingers, his lips, to her skin. Jughead crawled up the bed, bouncing next to his wife on the mattress in a mess of long, graceless limbs. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pressing a delicate kiss to her temple as she leant into his side. 

“Happy First Mother’s Day,” he said into her hair, unquenchable smile on his lips. Betty stilled in his arms for a moment before letting the tension leave her frame. She turned to look at him with wide, unassuming eyes. 

“My first one,” she whispered, awe colouring her voice. Jughead tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, fingers trailing down to trace the marks left by the pillow on her reddened cheek.

“The first of many,” he confirmed with a gentle smile. Betty turned from him to look again at Juliet - she’d already learnt to sit on her own and was grasping at the sheets with curious hands. 

Jughead slipped one of his fingers between all of hers, shaking it playfully when she clasped on. Betty bit her lip as she watched the scene before her, unable to believe some days that they’d made it to this place. It was an uncertain road, from that day she invited him to write for the Blue and Gold to them sitting here on their bed. It had been unimaginably hard at times - Betty would never forget the almost crushing weight she’d felt throughout her pregnancy, the doctor’s assuring her that pre-natal depression was a common occurrence. But Betty knew that after all the loss that she’d already faced in her life that it was more than that. It was on her, it was all on her, to make sure this baby made it safely into the world. After such uncertainty plaguing their lives Betty wasn’t sure she could do it. 

And then there was Jughead. Oh, how much she needed Jughead. The intensity of her feelings for the boy who climbed through her window to slay all of her demons alongside her still took her breath away. They were so in tune; he always knew when to stay away, when to drift closer. He’d coaxed her out of the darkest times during those nine months, drawing her into the light in the way he always told her she had done for him in their youth. 

The light had never shone brighter than when she was born - Juliet. Betty’s fondness for the name had made him laugh, his heart fluttering in his chest at the memories it held for both of them. 

“We made her, Jug. We made her together,” Betty kept repeating incredulously as they stared down at the bundle in her arms. Jughead had placed a kiss against her still damp forehead, tears beginning their trail down his cheeks. 

“Always together.”

Betty was brought out of her reverie by the squeals filling the air, Jughead having lunged forward to blow raspberries against Juliet’s little, round belly. Betty let out a joyous laugh, shaking her head at the childlike quality she hoped her husband would never grow out of. Jughead glanced over his shoulder at her, features slightly obstructed by the dark curl falling into his eyes. 

“Hot Dog was supposed to bring you your gift,” he began, sitting up to come closer to her ear as he dropped his voice. “But I guess you just taste too good,” he murmured, delighting in Betty’s involuntary shiver. She swatted his shoulder playfully as he smirked. 

“A gift?” she asked cheekily, not-so-subtly bringing the conversation back to the topic of her present. Jughead rolled his eyes affectionately, lifting Juliet into his lap. 

“Check his collar.” Betty’s brows furrowed as she leant over to where Hot Dog was standing with two paws on the mattress, watching his family interact with glistening eyes. Betty peered around his head, fingers reaching to unclip the box she hadn’t noticed from the leather strap. 

Upon opening it she gasped, hand coming to her chest.

“Look inside,” Jughead encouraged, pleased with her reaction. Betty’s fingers trembled as she lifted the delicate silver pendant out of its velvet bed, twisting it back and forth so the early morning light could illuminate the intricate engravings on the metal. She fiddled with the clasp, popping it open to see what Jughead had filled it with. 

There were two pictures. The first was of Betty and Jughead, curled around each other as teenagers in a booth at Pop’s - their safe place. Betty could still feel the vinyl beneath her fingertips if she focused hard enough, the smell of fries and the taste of whipped cream clouding her senses. On the other side was a picture of Jughead, handsomely dishevelling in his first few days as a father, gazing down at a soft pink bundle in his arms.

“Now, no matter what happens, you’ll always have us with you,” Jughead told her, smiling hopefully. Tears brimmed along Betty’s waterline, threatening to fall as she held the jewellery close to her heart. She brushed her lips tenderly against Jughead’s, closing her eyes tightly against the overwhelming sweetness. When she pulled back she ran a soothing hand over Juliet’s head, taking in her family before her.

“Always together,” she repeated their phrase. As if it was written in the very foundations of Riverdale, they would always be together.


End file.
